Stacey Jameson had a lack of self-esteem derived from her early childhood. Growing up and dealing with her parents' divorce, she felt she was nothing more than an inconvenience to her depressive mother. With severe feelings of inadequacy, she was desperate to be loved and feel that she belonged. When she was a teenager, she met Leon and fell in love. She had never been so happy. They had one common denominator; they were both brought up in volatile homes. This was the foundation for a turbulent and destructive relationship. Stacey was welcomed with open arms into the bosom of Leon's dysfunctional family; naive and impressionable, she finally felt secure and loved.
Stacey's childhood had made her timid and compliant. Leon's childhood had made him controlling and narcissistic. Gradually Stacey found herself in an unhappy relationship where her partner thrived on being abusive, yet she still loved him. Coercively controlled into doing things that were not part of her character, she was so manipulated, she believed she did not deserve any better.
So often people look on with judgement at others who are in an abusive relationship and say, "Why don't they just leave?".
Stacey's story, just one of millions, describes her journey and why it's not so simple to "Just leave" for people who find themselves caught up in a destructive relationship that they cannot escape from.
2nd Edition